Lilac City Estates in Rochester sells for $20.33m

The former owner of the mobile home park, Next Wave Home Estates, LLC, sold the property to Lilac Community Limited Partnership, which is part of the Hynes Group.

According to a deed signed on Dec. 31, the property, consisting of roughly 215 acres, was sold for a price of $20,330,000.

Gary Beers, transitional park manager for Lilac Community LP, the Hynes Group owns about 19 mobile home parks across the United States, but more recently, the group has been focusing on investing in mobile home parks throughout New England.

He said that in other parts of the country, mobile homes tend to be rented, whereas in New England, the parcels of land are typically rented while the homes are owned by the residents.

As a result of homeownership, there tends to be a more stable residential environment, more resident concern for the appearance of the property, and less maintenance cost for property management, said Beers.

He said that since the Hynes Group acquired Lilac City Estates, Beers has already met many park residents who have lived there for more than 20 years.

“They enjoy the community, they appreciate the cost of living,” he said.

Kevin Grondin, co-manager of Next Wave Home Estates, confirmed that most of the mobile homes at Lilac City Estates are owned, while the land is rented.

He said the Lilac City Estates property has been under agreement since December 2011, although the deed wasn't signed until recently.

“It's a very large piece of property,” he said.

Next Wave Home Estates, managed by Grondin and David Jacobs, has owned Lilac City Estates for almost 30 years.

“It was a mean amount of work and we wanted other angles, other business opportunities,” said Grondin, who would not specify which business opportunities he would like to pursue, for the time being. “It was time to try something else.”

For Grondin, selling Lilac City Estates came with mixed feelings.

“Thirty years is a long time to do anything, so obviously you'll have reservations about jumping off the cliff and doing something different,” said Grondin. “We put many years of efforts and sweat and tears into it ... We and our families certainly wish to thank all the people who made the whole thing possible for 30 odd years. We had such an extremely great company that we even had residents work and help us do things for no pay, and we in turn helped them in their business endeavors.”

He recalled that at times, it was difficult to make decisions such as raising rent on residents, many of whom he considered as friends.

“It was a heartfelt, compassionate view for us that we were trying to do the job right without being greedy,” said Grondin.

One of the harder times came about 10 years ago, when, after property reassessment, Next Wave Home Estates had to pay a tax bill that was about $100,000 more than the year prior, resulting in higher rent for Lilac City Estates residents.

Next Wave Home Estates still owns Peaceful Pines in Farmington and a portion of Chestnut Hill Park in Rochester. When asked about any plans to sell Peaceful Pines, Grondin said, “There will be a time and a place, but certainly not anytime soon.”

Grondin said that the new owner of Lilac City Estates is “a real professional property management group, and (the residents) will certainly be way better off than other two or three potential buyers.”

In particular, he said he believes Lilac Community LP will do a great job in keeping the property well-maintained.

According to Concord attorney James Bianco, who oversaw the land transaction for Lilac City Estates, the Hynes Group owns about five properties in New Hampshire, including ones in Conway, Concord and Keene.

Lilac City Estates has 491 residential lots, of which 469 are occupied and five are for sale, according to Beers.

In 2010, Tara Estates LLC, a Hynes Group company, also acquired Tara Estates, in Rochester.

Julie Brown, School Board member and resident of Lilac City Estates, said she felt Tara Estates residents were happy when the Hynes Group company became owner of that park.

“I look forward to great things with these new owners. They seem very caring of the people here and considerate of the elderly,” said Brown.

According to Beers, in the next couple of months the Lilac Community LP will survey residents about what kind of activities they would like to have at the park. Beers said he envisions making improvements at the existing club house, but not before getting feedback from the residents.

Lilac Community LP is currently seeking a new park manager for Lilac City Estates. The selection and interview process will begin shortly.

In a welcoming letter recently sent to park residents, Beers wrote, “All regular Lilac City Estates business practices, procedures, and requirements will continue for some time. As we get up to speed, we don't anticipate any great change to what was a well-run successful operation, and we'll certainly work to communicate anything necessary in advance.”

The letter continues, “The Hynes Group philosophy is to maintain and operate Parks as outstanding residential communities; to promote the character of the Parks as peaceful, attractive and enjoyable (to) all residents, and to promote order, safety, and harmony in the Park.”